Our democracy is on the brink, and reclaiming it will take an extraordinary, collective effort. Across the country, people are already fighting back through marches, community organizing, town halls, art, independent journalism, and social media campaigns. Together, these efforts push back against the forces actively working to undermine our democracy.

But while pro-democracy forces may enjoy the occasional victory, the far right rolls over democracy. It operates with planning, lawlessness, corruption, intimidation, propaganda, and division—functioning like a well-oiled, well-funded machine. Our efforts have not yet come close to matching the scale or coordination of theirs.

This imbalance is not accidental. Our institutions have been neutered. Elected Democrats act as if it’s still 2010. Mainstream media has traded both-sidesism for lawsuit avoidance. To make matters worse, too many of us are trapped in echo chambers of our own making.

We all feel it: the ground is slipping beneath us. We wonder what more we can do. Part of the answer lies in the most powerful tool we already have—our voice. How, where, and with whom we use it matters more than we realize. Conversations with our Trump-supporting friends and family, done differently, can change everything. And that’s where the missing link comes in.

But before getting to the missing link, we first need to look at the propaganda and divisiveness that put the right in a position to dismantle our democracy in the first place. They poured unlimited resources into reshaping us, turning us into tools for their agenda and weapons against each other, tearing apart millions of relationships in the process. We didn’t realize it, but our minds were the front line in their war against democracy.

They pulled our friends and family away from reality, and seemingly, away from us. But they didn’t really change who our loved ones are, only what they currently believe - there’s a big difference. The right was lucky in that we convinced ourselves we could no longer talk to our captured friends and family, when in fact, the only thing they changed is how we now need to talk to them.

It’s no longer about talking with those we disagree with; we’ve always known how to do that. It’s about talking with those who exist in an alternate reality, something most of us have never faced before. And while old conversation habits are almost certain to fail, better approaches exist - and they work

Conversation experts have already shown how to reach those caught in an alternate reality using proven, surprisingly straightforward techniques. Unfortunately, their insight hasn’t yet reached the broader resistance, as very few of us are thinking about having conversations with the Trump supporters in our lives, let alone searching for ways to improve them.

So here we are. The Trump supporters are trapped in the right-wing disinformation bubble, and we’re stuck in our own echo chamber, having largely written them off. Meanwhile, on the sidelines, the conversation experts are wringing their hands, trying to figure out how to get their techniques widely used. The components of a successful resistance are right in front of us.

The missing link is the group of pro-democracy podcasters, independent journalists, and other influencers who can connect their audiences at scale with the conversation experts eager to help.

Many resisters turn to these voices because they see them as more honest, aligned with their values, and free from institutional agendas. They have been vetted. Their followers have invested in them. This trust puts them in a unique position to inspire these conversations.

Imagine if just a few dozen resistance leaders began urging their audiences to have these conversations. Each week, they could simply share small reminders about their importance to democracy, the need to do them effectively, and connect people to the experts and resources already in place to guide the way. This could be started immediately without impacting their platform, message, or resources.

Having conversations with our Trump-supporting friends and family, when done correctly, isn’t just important for rescuing our democracy. It can also rebuild relationships, pull people out of the right-wing disinformation bubble, and move us toward a more civil society. Conversations do that.

our loved ones, and we were on the front line as our democracy was attacked. It was a war of propaganda and misinformation, one that exploited our neuroplasticity—our natural ability to rewire how we think and understand the world. The good news is that neuroplasticity never goes away, and we always have the capacity to change again, or recover and unlearn what was done to us. Perhaps we should see these new conversations we initiate not simply as acts of resistance, but as a deliberate effort to flip the script and reclaim the ground that was taken.

These conversations will only succeed if they’re done right, and that doesn’t happen without guidance from the experts. The most effective way for enough of us to get that help is if the journalists, podcasters, and influencers we follow use their reach to connect us with those experts and continually motivate and support us.

If this concept resonates, please share this article with the resistance leaders you follow.

A sampling of conversation experts

Here’s a small sampling of conversation experts who focus specifically on helping folks talk with their Trump-supporting friends and family:

Smart Politics, led by Karin Tamerius, is loaded with resources: quick-reads, videos, in-depth discussions, etc.

Leaving MAGA shares the stories of those who have left MAGA as well as advice for these conversations. Founder Rich Logis is dedicated to getting this information out to as many people as possible.

The Listen First Projecthas a 10 Tips reminder sheet

Braver Angles has a set of resources, including a 40-minute lesson for talking to your family.

Reunited States will walk you interactively through the basics

This Substack publication, Reclaiming The We provides the rationale and motivation for these conversations along with guidelines and external links to help us improve them.